For reference i love the sopranos, early seasons of game of thrones (haven't read asoiaf and never will unless its finished) and am reading lonesome dove right now. I read pillars of the earth and didn't like it, the characters didn't feel realistic at all. Also read the count of monte cristo and while i liked it my problems with it were similar to pillars of the earth. Ive never read the lord of the rings books because i dont really care about "lore" and world building and all that stuff that comes with fantasy novels but if thats not the main appeal of the books id give it a shot.
by BasicBison6969